Ballad of Eustass Kidd
by Antoinette Shakespeare
Summary: The phrase 'to Hell and back' is used too lightly when describing the troubles faced by couples, but Kidd's decision to let Ava wake up before he decided whether or not to kill her, would prove to very well take him to take him there.
1. Note from the Author

**Note from the Author**

**Title: Ballad of Eustass Kidd**

**Summary: The phrase 'to Hell and back' is used too lightly when describing the troubles faced by couples, but Kidd's decision to let Ava wake up before he decided whether or not to kill her, would prove to very well take him to Hell and back.**

Welcome, dear reader to the prologue, you could say, of the newly revised Eustass Captain Kidd Story –as it was formerly titled. I never liked the title anyway, hence the new one. Aside from the obvious changes –those being the entire story –I'd like to point out my other changes from an authorial stand point. There will no longer be any intro's/sneak-peaks/authors notes/answers to comments at the beginning or end of the chapter. Every 10 chapters I will do, in the fashion of Oda, a SBS (as he calls it) in which I will answer any and (hopefully) all questions between them. Any critical questions can be asked by PM and will be answered daily.

I will also be paying less attention to describing Ava; instead (to be posted after this note) is her complete character biography from a previous post.

Occasionally, I plan on updating you with little notes like these, in regards to bounty or if I seek your opinion on anything. As always I value highly your input, criticism or otherwise and any plot idea's can be sent to me via PM for immediate consideration and (newly) I will be accepting OC's from my readers as part time characters, bad guys and whatever I may need them for.

I have decided to remove the nicknames of Kidd's crew from the story, as Oda will most likely be revealing them shortly and in the mean time I will go off of the names I chose as their real names during the Hell Arc.

Also, I plan on being neutral as the author. You'll see me rant on occasion when Oda makes me angry but that should be it. Unless I get excited from Oda's plot or I find something important for my readers to know. And I'll put a warning sign beside each ramble I put, like so:

***CAUTION: RAMBLE***

Due to Oda's sudden release of the Supernova's ages, I've had to rethink a few things. Kidd is no longer 29 PTS (post time skip) but 21 PTS so, I have changed the ages of Ava and the rest of the Kidd Pirates, but you'll all find that out later.

To my new readers, I will warn you now not to take this story seriously, because I don't. I put time and effort into this, but the plot itself is not serious. This post is an edited version of another story I had posted formerly.

To my old readers, thank you for being patient with me and I hope you all enjoy this revised version! Also, I have every single one of the comments you have all left me over the past 2 years.

Lastly, any sort of desire to use one of my characters is any media is fine by me (ie. drawing or other story.) is completely okay by me so long as you PM me before hand and I get to see the finish product.

Enjoy :)


	2. Trafalgar Ava

**Name: **Trafalgar Ava

**Age:**19

**Gender: **Female

**Birthday: **April 21st

**Appearance:**Short, choppy black hair that goes to her collar bones at its longest and blue eyes. Her skin is tan and she has many tattoos that come and go depending on the injury sustained to that body part. The most prominent one is the Heart Pirates Jolly Roger on her hips and the words Demon Nurse on the inside of her wrists. Other tattoo's are similar to those on Trafalgar Law and are generally tribal in nature. Her body is rather thin and lanky, similar to a boys with very little curves and small breasts.

**Weapon:**None, though if projectiles are available she will use them.

**Special Ability: **Devil Fruit, Force-Force no Mi. It allows her to push or pull anything that is in contact with her body or parallel to her palms or the bottom of her feet. (ie. She can levitate so long as her feet are parallel to the ground. Anything that touches her she can repel or keep attracted to her so it cannot be removed. Anything she touches she can push at very high velocities, (ie. Pushing someone against a wall or throwing a bullet, she can increase its velocity enough to kill.))

She is also trained in medicine and she is fairly skilled. She is not so much knowledge based in her training but in experience, so she may not know what a sternocleidomastoid is, but she can fix it.

**Personality:**

_Good: _quick thinking, loyal, logical, outgoing, humorous, laid-back.

_Bad: _sarcastic, bratty, intrusive.

**Negative voice(s) in head:**How is this going to backlash, will this affect my brother.

**Different selves: **

_Her Brother:_ loving, doting, loyal, humorous (though never at a Trafalgar's expense) and protective.

_Kidd:_ sarcastic, bratty, flirtatious (attempted), invasive, obnoxious, curious.

_Her crew:_ sarcastic, loyal, humorous, friendly, bossy.

_Kidd Pirates: _kind, humorous, friendly, arrogant.

_Strangers:_ cold or outgoing, sarcastic, curious, rude.

_Enemy: _humorous, obnoxious, rude.

**Favorite foods/drinks: **Alcohol, vegetables and wheat.

**Least favorite foods/drinks: **Cheep beer, meat.

**Habits (the good, the bad, and the neutral):**When asked a question, she stands on her tip-toes and looks at the ceiling. Enjoys hanging upside down/in odd positions with her feet up. Sits on the figure head of ships.

**Hobbies, likes, and dislikes:**

_Hobbies:_ journaling, exploring, thinking, drinking and smoking.

_Likes: _drinking, smoking, getting into trouble, being a pirate and shopping.

_Dislikes: _being told what to do, being wrong and being restrained.

**Quotes:**N/A

**Common words/phrases used:** Mr. and Miss. Big Brother.

**Swear words:**Any.

**Fears:**Being restrained, the death of her brother and being forced to be a marine.

**Morals: **Loyalty, piracy, and anything she can use as an excuse to help her brother. Not a lot of moral.

**Clothing:**Yellow tank top, black suspenders and yellow, black, white and grey plaid shorts. Enjoys wearing boots and really big jackets (ie. Her brothers hoodie and Kidd's coat.) Anything revealing and yellow though still professional. Sheer tights held up by garters. Enjoys anything with a patter, particularly plaid.

**Seen by other characters as:**

_Her Brother:_ loyal, obsessive, talented, someone to be protected.

_Her crew: _cruel when she chooses but generally kind and like a little sister.

_Kidd: _obnoxious, weird, quirky, interesting.

_Kidd's crew:_ friendly, nice, smart.

_Strangers: _demonic, dangerous, cruel and cold-hearted.

_Enemies:_ dangerous, a threat, tricky and cunning.

**Background: **Grew up in the North Blue with her mother, father and brother. She is the youngest sibling. Her and her brother caused a lot of trouble when they were children and because of that her father left them, leaving her mother with many bills. This caused her mother to have to work constantly in the mines and doing whatever she could to pay for them all, plus for them to live and that led to Ava and Law causing more trouble and so on and so forth. Eventually, her mother became ill when she was 7 and despite her and her brothers best efforts they were unable to save her and Law who was 12. Shortly thereafter they were adopted by DonQuixote Doflamingo and became his underlings until Law set out to become a pirate himself and Ava with him.


	3. Ch 1

The harsh ocean rocked the body of a girl back and forth like a rag doll on the measly piece of board that kept her from sinking into the briny depths of the Grand Line. Shackles were clamped to her wrists and ankles; a rusted, iron muzzle was around her mouth. Blood oozed from the many wounds that marred her pale, tattooed skin and stained the board a dusty maroon before seeping into the dark waters that reflected the overcast sky above. Neither the moon nor the sun was visible through the dense veil of storm clouds. A cyclone surged around her, torrents knotted her hair and flung it around her face and tangled it in the mouth piece of the muzzle. Around her, shattered and charred remnants of a Marine Ship bobbed in the unruly currents.

In the distance a large, looming pirate vessel forged a path through the tempest, following the magnetic path set before them by the Log Pose sitting on a table in the Captain's quarters. Tattered sails were held by strained ropes as the wind carried them in circles, fighting against the direction of the rudder. Men dressed in black, leather and metal carried out their duties, struggling against the force of nature but it was the anticipation of wrath from their captain should they fail kept them moving.

It was not long until the girl in the water washed against the hull of the ship, the soft sound of wood scraping against wood was barely audible against the crashing of the waves on the hull. It was by chance that a dreadlocked peered over the railing and caught glimpse of her. There was only brief hesitation on his mind, a fear of his captain's displeasure, but the calls of chivalry forced his hand and he quickly called for rope and pulled the girl aboard.

* * *

Below deck was the feared captain of the ship, Eustass _Captain _Kidd. He sat at the desk in his quarters with his feet propped on the metal desk that held various maps, stacks of wanted posters and a Log Pose that rolled this way and that across the top with every violent lurch of the ship. After a moment of staring at the Log Pose, he held his hand toward it and flexed his fingers, knuckles cracking as a purple static covered his hand. Around the room things like tacks and nails, left over silverware and anything else made of metal began to scrape across the wood floors or metal tables toward him. The Log Pose shot across the table toward his hand, fitting snugly in his fist and the static dissipated.

Kidd lowered his legs from the table and stood up, wood creaking beneath him as the nails resettled into their places. Hanging on the back of the chair, left in his wake, was a large coat that would have hung past his waste, covered in maroon fur that got darker around the collar and large, golden spikes that lined the front. He was about to leave the room, planning on observing and reinforcing the work moral of his crew in the tempest, but before he could open the door it swung past him, slamming into the wall and passing just inches from his nose.

Facing him in the doorway was a man about his height with a white and blue striped mask on and untamed blond hair that fell to his knees in wild waves. Every inch of him dripped, forming a puddle on Kidd's floor. His chest rose and fell rapidly from the hard work above in the squall and searching for Kidd in the massive ship.

"For almost hitting me, Killer, this better be damn important." Shouldering Killer to the side, he stormed out of his quarters and down the hall. Water sloshed around him every time his boots came into impact with the three inch deep layer of water that drained down the hall to the orlop at the back of the ship. "And somebody clean this fuckin' mess up!" A man exited a door from down the hall with a mop, instantly beginning to absorb the marsh that was forming.

"It is, Captain," Killer answered while he followed Kidd up a flight of stairs that lead to the front of the ship. When Kidd encouraged him to continue with a grunt he added, "We found a girl floating in the water."

As they stepped onto the deck, a wall of water struck and drenched them. The screaming wind deafened them and the flashes of light as lightening struck the ocean was blinding but through the brightness Kidd could see about five members of his crew huddled around a crate and a figure slumped on the ground. In his peripheral he caught sight of a Marine flag twisting in the gulls of the cyclone, tearing to bits with every sharp tug until it landed amidst wreckage of a transport ship.

"Is that so?"

Kidd charged through the downpour and past other members of his crew to the bow of the ship where they were gathered; Killer followed at his flank, checking left and checking right that the crew were maintaining the ship. The figure they saw on the board was a girl, perhaps half Kidd's size if she were in full health. She was small and rather boyish in figure with shaggy, ear-length black hair that obscured most of her face. At first glance Kidd would have thought she was a prepubescent girl and even at second glance he was very sure that she was. The tattered prisoner's garb that she wore was charred and revealed many cuts and scrapes as well as tattoos, many of which Kidd identified as a Jolly Roger.

He frowned and stared at her. The first thought was that she was the enemy, an attempt to infiltrate his crew and steal from them, or learn their weakness. Prisoner outfits were easy to come by for any pirate with a past and it was completely possible for a group of pirates to ambush and blow up a Marine Ship just to set up a good scene. This he knew was very possible; he blew up Marine Ships without cause on a regular basis.

Even so, there was a chance she was a criminal. A dangerous sort of one and from his stand point, Kidd knew that to pass up the chance to gain a strong crew member was a bad idea. Taking in a deep breath, Kidd pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed.

"Well, Captain? Is it damn important enough?"

Focusing his eyes on the girl, Kidd nodded slowly and allowed his thoughts to digest. "Who's the chivalrous one who took her in?"

Feeling his eyes on them, Kidd's crew began to shirk away from the girl, afraid to admit to having any part in it. Kidd did not take kindly to charity. He was not a good person. The man with the dreadlocks alone did not move and stepped toward Kidd, standing just in front of the girl in fear that Kidd would crush her skull right then and there.

"It was me. I spotted her and made the decision to bring her aboard. I didn't see another body, dead or living, and Xavier in the nest couldn't spot any either nor another ship, be it the attacker or a rescuer."

Killer watched Kidd while his peer spoke. Regardless of any explanation, the man was going to be furious that such a decision was made without him. Once Heat had finished speaking, the blond knew that Kidd was going to go on a tangent again. "She was found with these, too." Feeling Kidd's eyes on him now, Killer kicked a crate that contained the restraints that were on the girl. "We took them off so we could try and identify her but no one has any ideas."

Lifting his hand from his side, Kidd made a calling motion with his index finger and to his shock the items in the box did not rattle or shake. Only a rusty muzzle rose from the box. He let his hand drop back at his side and wrinkles appeared above his nose. "Sea stone? She's a Devil Fruit user; she was left to die."

"There's no one coming for her, Kidd, be it pirate or government. There's nothing suspicious about her."

"So then tell me Killer, if you're so determined to prove that she isn't out to get us, why shouldn't I just kill her now? It would only take a little pressure…" He lifted his boot above her head, grey water dripping off the toe onto the girls head, sliding down her cheeks. "Crack." Bringing his foot down fast toward her skull, he stopped when he touched it, mussing her hair with the tread.

"There's a Jolly Roger on her arm, she's obviously a pirate but there's no way she's with her crew. She's very malnourished meaning the likeliness of them coming after her, if they are alive, is slim. Kairoseki –she's a Devil Fruit user and one that's either strong or crazy enough to need shackles and a _muzzle_. I imagine there's a marine out their missing a nasty chunk out of his neck. As the captain you, of course, understand that it would be a bad idea to pass up an interview with a possible new crew member. And if you don't like her, well, crack."

Kidd grunted, cursing Killer for being as logical as he was; the bastard. "You heard the man, one of you better go make that useless leprechaun earn his keep."

"Aye, Master Kidd." Eddie lifted the girl into his arms from the board, struggling to get a hold of her slick skin with his own. Once he got his grip he stood and took slow steps toward the door that lead below deck.

"And the rest of you need to get the fuck back to work," Kidd ordered and took a moment to stare each of the remaining members of his crew in the eye. It only took a second for them to take off sliding across the deck. Killer alone remained by his side, like him, staring out into the ocean, watching as the violent waves crashed into each other causing spray to fly onto the deck, hitting their skin like needles.

"What do you think, Captain?"

Kidd ran his tongue across his teeth and then said, "I think she might already be dead." Grinning, he looked at Killer who just looked back at him. "Last time we had a stiff on board the hull reeked for a month, remember?"

"Yes and half the crew got sick because you refused to give the village back their dead King because he called you a coward for not destroying their town."

Kidd laughed, recalling the fond memory of when he began his streak of terror across the Grand Line. He didn't speak after that for a moment then he said, "You saw her Jolly Roger, didn't you?" Bearing now a sober expression, he stared into the box of restraints. Killer nodded. "Well, we didn't keep every newspaper and wanted poster for no reason, Killer, get to work. Just because you can get away with being a smartass doesn't mean you get to slack off."

"Sure, Captain."

* * *

Heat approached the door that led to the ships hospital, a single room that doubled as doctor's office and tripled as a laboratory. He stopped in front of it and looked at the girl that occupied his arms then raised his foot and kicked in the door. A startled scream, the sound of shattering glass and something unbreakable falling came from inside the door.

"What do you want?"

Heat walked into the lab and past the short red-head at the desk, dropping the girl onto the single cot at the back of the room. "Be quite. Can't you see she's sleeping?" Leering over the doctor, he stared at scribbles in the notebook on the desk as a yellow liquid seeped from a broken test tube. "Master Kidd wants her taken care of, best get on it." After that, Heat left the room and let the door shut softly behind him.

"Her?" Doc whipped his head around to stare at the slowly rising and falling chest of the girl. "Doesn't that man know its bad luck to bring a woman aboard, even if she is a miniature one?" He sighed and jumped from his chair, trotting across the room and making disapproving noises as he gathered medical supplies. Once they were gathered, he set up a stool at the side of the bed and began examination.

* * *

The shrill ring of a timer woke the girl with a start. Her head was ringing when she shot into a sitting position and her blood rushed to her head, making her sick and filling her vision with fuzz. She frantically searched around the room, trying to get her bearings.

The room she was in was unfamiliar. She noticed dark mahogany wood covering the floor, ceiling and walls, even though the walls were adorned with medieval instruments and shelves packed with glass jars containing various body parts. The bed she sat on was the only clean thing in the room clothed in spotless white sheets –save the few drops of blood here and there –and a dark green blanket. Across the room from her was a short man with very pale skin and a very large amount of freckles.

When the leprechaun noticed her studying him, he exclaimed, "Oh, you're finally awake, eh?" He jumped from his chair and rushed to a small counter against a different wall, taking a needle from a small holder beside a sink.

Ava eyed the needle and replied with a shaky voice, "Yeah, it does appear that way, doesn't it, Mister?"

"No need to be rude, girl," he replied and approached her with the needle. He paid no mind as her eyes widened and she frantically backed against the wall, squirming. "No need to be that way, this is just to boost your immune system. Captain's orders." Shooting his hand into her mess of flailing limbs, he snatched her wrist and pulled her closer. He shot a small amount of red liquid out of the needle and shook the vial.

"Actually, there is not a single thing wrong at all with my immune system at all, it's in tip-top shape," she insisted and laughed nervously, trying to pull out of his grasp. "I would know, I'm a nurse and my brother is a fantastic doctor." Ava's eyes widened and her pupils shrunk as the man moved the needle closer to her skin. "Really, I insist that you keep that away from me. I won't guarantee –" She snapped her mouth shut and spastically kicked her legs out from beneath her, knocking back the doctor and sending the needle flying into the air. The vial hit the floor and the red liquid sprayed everywhere.

Grumbling and glaring, the leprechaun stood up and cradled his wrist in his other. "Well, in that case I'll just go get the captain." With his good hand, he opened the door and left her alone.

For a moment Ava stared at the door and when no one returned instantly, she contorted herself so she lay on her back with her feet propped up against the wall. Her head dangled off the bed, staring at the door and her hands were laid on her stomach. Minutes more passed until she could hear the footprints of the leprechaun and the captain coming down the hall and then the door slammed open; beside the doctor stood a very tall and muscular man whom she recognized from several bounty posters. She grinned.

"I tried to give her a shot, Captain, but she broke my hand and the syringe in the process," the doctor explained, scowling at the girl and nursing his wrist. He went to sit at his desk while the captain approached Ava.

"I don't like needles. Sorry." Her grin didn't falter and she looked up at the man confidently.

"Who are you?" Kidd's lips stretched into a snarl. Just looking at the girl, he regretted not throwing her into the ocean.

Slowly, Ava sat up and twisted around until she was standing on the cot, looking him in the eye. "What's it worth to ya?" She studied Eustass Kidd's face as it contorted with fury. She noticed that he had no eyebrows. Licking her bottom lip, she was taken by surprise when piece of metal flew past her face, leaving a long, thin cut running with blood on her cheek and a sharp piece of scrap metal implanted in the wall behind her.

"I don't know, you tell me." Kidd reached out and shoved down on her shoulder, forcing her onto her back. He placed a foot on her chest and leered over her. "What's it worth to ya?"

"My name, Mr. Eustass, is Trafalgar Ava. It's an incomparable pleasure to meet you, especially under these," she licked her lips, "circumstances." Her eyes suggested to his position and then she met him in the eye.

"The fuck did you call me?" Kidd demanded and got off of her, rubbing the sole of his boot on the ground.

"My apologies, Mr. Eustass _Captain_ Kidd," Ava corrected. "Now, Mr. Eustass, you and I both know that you're not the most chartable sort, so could you explain why you saved me?"

"You can ask some very stupid members of my crew that one." He watched as Ava nodded and shrugged as if she could have figured out that answer herself. "Now, explain why you were out in that mess."

Ava sat up and with her thumb wiped the blood off her cheek, spearing it on her pants. "_That_ is top-secret information."

"You're going to tell me," Kidd began and snatched a handful of her hair in his fist, pulling her head back until she was starting at him, "or you're going to die. End of discussion, Miss."

Silently, she stared at him and let the options weigh themselves in her mind. "Nope." When she saw the startled look on Kidd's face that she anticipated, she smacked his hand away from her with ease and then ran her fingers through her short, greasy hair. "I'll tell you when I'm ready to trust you with such information."

A small grin rose on Kidd's lips, exposing very sharp teeth. "You must be quick to trust people then."

"Nope." She placed a hand on his chest and to Kidd's astonishment pushed him back with ease. She stood and walked toward the door. "But because I just get this funny feeling we're fairly intertwined, I'll give you a teaser: I'm a bitter." Clicking her teeth together, she made a small lunge at Kidd before making a quick redirection to the door. Before she could open it, she was being pulled back by her hair again and was thrown onto the bed. "And no, I'm not interested in having sex with –" She was silenced by a swift blow to her cheek that threw her head into the nearby wall which. The resulting thud was deafening. Rubbing her head, she pulled away from the wall with a slight scowl. "Kinky."

"At this rate I'll be killing you before we have any real fun," Kidd said with a look of faux disappointment.

A small whine escaped Ava's lips. "But we're just getting started." As she fingered her wound, she felt blood pooling in her hair. She pulled her fingers out of the tangled mess and wiped the blood on her pants, an accumulating stain. Glancing past Kidd she noticed the fret of the doctor's countenance. "Alas, my sudden blood loss is making me delusional. Do you really want to know how it is I managed to sneak myself aboard your ship?" Leaning her head in her hand, she watched as Kidd stared at her before he grabbed the chair from the desk and swung it beneath himself. He sat down and propped his feet up on the bed. Ava stared at the bottom of his boots; there was blood in the grit and a few white pieces that she was sure were bones. Then, she leaned over them until her torso hovered above Kidd's lap. "Nope." As she anticipated, her head flew to the other side of the room, crashing into the wall again before her body sunk to the ground.

Once she was able to see again, she saw Kidd walk out of the room and slam the door behind him. Then the doctor crowded her vision and then it was gone.

* * *

Before Kidd got to the deck, he was intercepted by Killer when his first mate walked out of an open door. Silently, Killer waited for Kidd to pass before following him to the steering platform where Kidd lowered himself into the large throne that sat before the wheel.

"Who is she, Captain?" Killer leaned against the railing behind the wheel, watching as a small grin appeared on his captain's lips. It was a very unusual thing to see him smiling when there weren't dead bodies strewn around him, but for all Killer knew, there was one in Doc's office.

"Trafalgar Ava: a stupid little girl with too much confidence who dreams of playing with pirates."

"So she's not dead?" When Kidd shook his head it almost came as a shock to Killer. "Are you going to toss her overboard then?"

Kidd chuckled, looking over the still waters. The sun was high over head, soon to be behind them. "No, I don't think I will yet, Killer. She might prove to be of some entertainment still, if I didn't accidentally kill her that last time I hit her."

Shaking his head, Killer resisted the urge to attempt pinching his nose through his mask. "If you insist, Captain, what should you have me do, then?"

Kidd finally stared at Killer. "Find out everything that you can."

* * *

When Ava awoke, she pulled her eye lids open and saw the doctor hovering over her. Hastily, she pulled away from him and backed away until she tumbled off the edge of the bed. Her hand fell in a puddle of blood that was surely hers. "Ew."

"Damn it, girl, will you –"

"Damn it, midget, will you stop calling me 'girl'?" Ava stood and wiped the blood on her pants. She reached up to her head wound, instead feeling a bandage. She shrugged. "I'm twenty-one. I'm not a girl. How old are you?" Leering over him, she stared him in the eye.

"Forty-four."

Ava stood up quickly, muttering, "Grandpa," under her breath before she sat on the bed again with her legs crossed. "I'm bored. Why doesn't Mr. Eustass like me?"

Having heard her comment, Doc stood up rigidly and then said, "I can't possibly fathom the answer."

"Me neither." Frantically, her eyes began to wander about the room. The only way in or out was the door in front of her, blocked by the doctor as he went about cleaning the large mess that was beginning to consume his office. "Am I confined to this pitiful excuse for a, well, whatever it is or am I free to roam the ship until further notice of my public execution? Because I do find Mr. Eustass rather fascinating, y'know." As she began to examine the archaic instruments that lined the walls and shelves, she found herself making noises of disapproval as none of the tools she found here had been anywhere near a patient of her brother in almost all of the years she had been alive. They were primitive to her eye.

"Do whatever you feel necessary, girl, my job was the bandage you, not baby sit you."

Ava snorted. "That came off more of a 'get the hell out of here and bug someone else' than a 'yes, make yourself at home'." Stretching her arms on either side of her, she pushed herself to her feet and walked off the cot. On the tips of her toes, she walked across the room and swung the door out.

"It's still nicer than what I intended to convey," the doctor grumbled. "Whether you get the Captain to toss you overboard or not is none of my concern so long as someone doesn't end up dragging your carcass back here again."

Half-way out the door Ava paused and stared back at him with a frown. "You don't like me either, do you?" She shook her head and quickly disappeared into the dark hallway, slamming the door shut behind her.

Looking left and looking right she scarcely saw a difference. The walls were made of the same wood as in the doctor's office, but covered in slime and mildew. Every so often there were doors on either side of the hall. No windows and no lights; not a soul or a sound except the dull echo of footsteps above and the crash of waves on either side of her.

For a long time she waited where she stood for someone to appear or something significant to happen so she could choose a direction. Then, from her left, a man walked out of a room a few doors down and noticed her standing there. There was a blue and white helmet on his head that made him easily recognizable as _Massacre Man _Killer; the first-mate of the Kidd Pirates. In his hands were several documents and old news papers.

"You're Ava, aren't you?" He didn't move from where he stood.

"Yes, and you're _Massacre Man_ Killer." Ava watched as he shuffled through the papers and then stuffed them inside his open dress shirt.

"I am. Whose permission do you have to go unescorted?"

Ava shrugged and then looked at the ceiling, rocking back and forth on the ball of her feet. "No one, but the doctor said to make myself at home." Her eyes fell back to Killer and a grin flashed onto her face. "But you can escort me if you like." Walking towards him, she didn't let her eyes drop from where his face would be until she walked right past him. She continued down the hall way and didn't look back but she could hear Killer following her silently.

Eventually, she found herself at a staircase and once she got to the top she found the door that led to the deck. From her back the sun poured down on her and warmed her skin, revealing for the first time to her the extent of her injury. Around her men went about their business, only sparing her a passing glance as they went on their way. The overcast clouds she last remembered were long gone, replaced by white wisps. Warm air surrounded her, lessened by a soft breeze. Reflections of white and yellow from the ocean blinded her but none the less she weaved her way through the thuggish crew to the bow of the ship and planted herself on the figure head that was carved in the shape of a skull. Over her shoulder, Killer still watched her and cast a shadow at her feet.

"It's a nice day, isn't it?"

"It is, unlike when we found you. Ten seconds later and you would have been sucked into a cyclone." Killer leaned against the railing to the right of her and stared sideways at the girl, occasionally glancing to the steering wheel where Kidd watched the ship.

"How fortunate," Ava began slowly. She looked to killer with a soft smile. "I really thought the rumors about Mr. Eustass being a malicious baby-eater were true, but it looks like he is kind hearted after all." When Killer began to laugh, she was hardly able to keep from breaking out as well; it took all of her concentration to keep her smile from growing.

"You read _that_ article, did you?" Killer paused and let his laugher die. "Well, it was a close accusation. Kidd has never actually eaten a child but he's as vicious and cold hearted as they say."

Without her smile faltering, Ava said, "Really? How disappointing."

Killer nodded silently then began to walk away. "Stay here and don't get into trouble."

"You got is, boss."

* * *

When Killer reached his captain, Kidd was watching Ava as she sat like a stone on the figure head. Killer watched her for a moment, also and then took out the papers noisily. "Should she be outside of the doctor's office?"

Shrugging, Kidd answered with a grunt of indifference and faced Killer. He took his hands off the wheel and leaned back in his throne. "What did you find out?" He listened as Killer cleared his throat and began to read from the news article first in the pile.

"Rookie pirate _Surgeon of Death_ Trafalgar Law saves young prince in North Blue from fatal wound involving a large projectile that pierced both of the prince's lungs with the assistance of his younger sister and fellow pirate: Trafalgar Ava." Killer handed the article to Kidd and began reading from the next. "_Surgeon of Death_ Trafalgar Law defeats _Home Run _Hoshi, an East Blue Pirate with a bounty of 79,000,000 Beli. Trafalgar's Bounty has been raised from 12,500,000 Beli to 32,000,750 Beli. Trafalgar's younger sister, Trafalgar Ava, who was a key component of the Heart Pirates' victory, was entitled a bounty of 11,000,000 Beli." Killer passed Kidd the article and looked at the two bounty posters that followed. The picture they had of Ava was a far cry of how she appeared now. Her hair was shorter then and a rich black that fell jaggedly around her and obscured her blue eyes; her skin was tan and she was very heavily tattooed. The bounty picture of her brother, however, was a near replica to her picture. Both had the same features and wore the same expression of defiance and confidence; both were also flipping off the unfortunate photographer. These were also passed to Kidd. He cleared his throat. "Trafalgar Ava single handedly –though under the scrutiny of her brother and captain –completed a three organ transplant between a sheep and an unconscious Marine hostage. The young soldier lived three days before being recovered by his team; twelve hours after he passed away. The sheep completely survived the procedure and is still being cared for by its original owner. Trafalgar Ava's bounty has risen from 11,000,000 Beli to 17,500,000 Beli and she has been given the epithet of _Demon Nurse_." Killer took a deep breath and passed the article and bounty poster to Kidd. "That was all of what we had, but there's another bounty poster issued seven months ago. Currently, she has an issued bounty of 66,000,000 Beli." Slowly he handed the bounty poster to Kidd, there was an air of regret that clung to his hesitation.

Kidd's frown deepened as he double and triple checked the documents, scanning for some error. He found none. Looking at the blood stained girl in the wanted posters, he would have laughed if it weren't for another detail. "Killer, tell me how her bounty is higher than yours?"

"I'm not sure, Captain. My apologies."

Spitting onto the ground by his feet, Kidd looked to the crow's nest over his shoulder. "Go talk to Xavier and find out when we'll be landing at the next island," Kidd ordered and placed his feet back on the ship's wheel. In his hands was Ava's most recent bounty poster.

* * *

Killer found their navigator in the Crow's Nest among bottles of old beer and outdated and yellowing maps. Killer leaned against the edge of the nest and balanced on the rungs of the rope ladder, peering at the man as he checked the appearance of his large Mohawk in a hand mirror. When Killer cleared his throat the man jumped and the mirror feel into the pits of the ocean. Overhead the flag that hung above Killer's head snapped in the breeze.

"Damn it, Killer," Xavier exclaimed and turned sharply to him. "What do you need?" He began to busy himself with the old maps around him, scanning the rout that was lined in red.

"Kidd wants to know when we'll be landing at the next island." Glancing to the bow of the ship he saw that Ava was gone. In his quick overview of the ship, he couldn't see her. A feeling of unease settled in his stomach. Even though they were just entering the Grand Line, their bounties were head and shoulder over almost every other pirate they encountered and hers was higher than his.

"Hello? Killer?"

"Repeat that," Killer said and turned back to Xavier. He watched as the navigator pointed out a small island on a newer looking map. "If I'm right, then we should be there in a few days, and if I'm really good at my job we should be arriving on a Spring Island called Elbaf." He pronounced the name slowly as he read the messy writing on the map. Beneath the name, written in bold letters was the word: dangerous.

"Look's dangerous."

"Yeah, well," Xavier laughed, "this map was made before the captain ate a Devil Fruit." He began to roll up the map when it was pulled from his hands and over the other side of the Crow's Nest. Xavier spun around and peered over the edge. Tangled in the mesh of ropes that hung beneath the nest, Ava sat with the map propped out in front of her.

"Devil Fruit? Is that how Mr. Eustass managed to launch flying metal objects at me?" Over Ava's shoulder, the map suddenly disappeared again. She contorted herself quickly to stare at Killer as he rolled the map back up and then returned to the nest. A frown tugged on her lips and she clambered her way towards Killer and sprung up beside him.

"What are you doing?" Killer asked begrudgingly and handed the map to Xavier, far from Ava's reach.

"Nothing."

"Really?" Killer wanted to roll his eyes in disbelief but spared himself the wasted effort.

"Yup."

"Are you going to be giving me more than a one word answer anytime soon?"

"Unlikely." Ava shrugged and watched as Killer began to climb back down the rope ladder. She followed quickly. She followed Killer silently, as he stopped talking to her, across the deck and up another flight of stairs to the top deck where Kidd watched them arrive. Remaining at his flank, she stopped when he did at Kidd's side and peered around him to stare at the ship's captain.

"We'll be arriving at the next island in a couple of days, if Xavier is correct."

"Good," Kidd replied, "we're running low on supplies. I want rations cut until we get there." He turned the wheel hard to port and his eyes drifted from the horizon, to Killer and back to the Log Pose in his hand.

"And what are we going to do with Ava?" Killer asked as she walked from behind him. Taking cautionary steps, Ava slowly walked in a large circle around Kidd and stopped at the back of the throne. He approached Kidd and took the Log Pose out of his hand, examining it. "We're going the wrong direction, Captain." Killer tossed the Log Pose back to Kidd who caught it angrily.

"Fuck." He snatched a rung of the wheel and spun it to the right. There was a sway in the ship and it creaked as it turned suddenly, sending all untied objects sliding across the deck and the hull.

"What happened, Mr. Eustass, are we lost?" Ava asked and climbed up the back of the chair. She seemed to hover effortlessly over the back so that her torso was hanging in front of Kidd. She watched him with a blank expression.

"No, we're not fuckin' lost," Kidd snarled and attempted to smack her away. She dodged every blow.

"That's good," she said and dodged another one. "If we were, you wouldn't be a very good captain, would you?" Ava kicked her feet against the back of Kidd's chair. Her actions were halted when Kidd snatched her by the hair and pulled her from behind him, flinging her onto the ground at his feet. Rubbing her shoulder that took most of her landing, she frowned at looked at Kidd. "Y'know, you're the only person who has ever been that mean to me without me having killed some family member of theirs. Have I offended you in a past life?"

Kidd ignored her and rolled his eyes. He looked over his shoulder at the sun that began to sink on the blue horizon. Killer's question was still on his mind; he ignored Ava. "Take her to the barracks and give her a spare bunk. When dinner's over I'll have Mack bring her some scraps, she can starve until then." Ava stuck her tongue out at him and crossed her arms. "In the morning I'll decide what we'll do with her."

* * *

It was the eve before they were due to land on Elbaf. Kidd had decided that because of her high standing bounty, a battle on his ship would end in disaster and the death of most of his crew. So, he allowed Ava freedom on the ship so long as she was under the constant supervision of one of his crew until a later date when he would decide whether he liked her enough to keep her as a crew member or kill her at another island.

In that amount of time, Kidd couldn't say whole-heartedly whether or not he liked Ava. She peaked his interest, since it was such a large gap between his expectation of her –given her bounty –and what she was actually like, and whether or not she was giving them the true her fascinated him. For the most part, she was compliant so long as he didn't give her any orders; all of his five attempts were shot down with very graphic death threats to him, his family, his crew, any future lovers and most importantly to his testicles. It seemed to him, she also picked up on how to stay neutral with him after the third or fourth time she was flew completely from one end of his ship to the other.

Kidd wouldn't say they were friends, but he could say that they were on good enough terms for him not to have tossed her overboard.

The horizon was filled with the silhouette of the massive island they approached. Because of the magnetic property of his Devil Fruit powers, Kidd knew that they were still a day's sail from the island but it appeared as if they were to wash up on the shore of it any second.

Another thing Kidd noticed about Ava, in cahoots with her invasiveness, was that she didn't seem to enjoy being alone, much. For the most part she stuck around with Killer, Heat or himself and the latter he enjoyed least. Not because he wasn't a people person, but because wherever he was, there happened to also be something for Ava to climb on; most popular was his throne where he sat.

As he would expect, Ava had just snuck her way to the stern end of the top deck. He could feel her tromping around this way and that as she wondered toward him. Soon he could feel her climbing up the back of his throne, that was almost twice her size, until she had perched herself just above his right shoulder.

"Are we there yet, Mr. Eustass? I've been watching that island not get closer for…" Her eyes wandered until they found the sun, coming to a close on her left, and then counted with her fingers. "Nine hours!"

"So stare at something else for a day, we won't arrive until tomorrow afternoon." Kidd didn't move his head but looked at her none the less and watched as she lowered herself daintily to his arm rest and walked across it until she reached the end. She bounced off and landed with a quiet thud in front of him.

"Bah." She scowled and glanced over her shoulder to the unmoving island. With her hands on her hips she turned her gaze to Kidd again and smiled brightly. "You don't seem to be too eager or excited to get rid of me, Mr. Eustass. Are we developing a fondness?"

"No, just a tolerance." When she began to laugh, Kidd could feel the corners of his lips tugging instinctively into a smile. He resisted and buried it underneath a scowl and dark eyes. "Why are you so excited, there's a fifty percent chance that I'll murder you before you leave that island? The only other way you're getting off is on my ship as–"

"A brand, sparkling new loyal and obedient, dimwitted servant," she recited as if she had been reading it from a script. While she spoke her eyes were focused on the stars that began to appear. When she finished she looked at Kidd again where she could see the white of his teeth as a small smile appeared; it disappeared just as quickly. Her smile grew.

Kidd shrugged and glanced to the port side. "Maybe not the dimwitted part, Killer might be insulted."

* * *

To no one's surprise, the Kidd Pirates had reached the island at around noon like Kidd had predicted. What came to the Kidd Pirates as a surprise was that their ship was barely larger than the figure head of those that were already docked there. The rope that was left at the docking station was as thick as humans were and so all of their spare rope was used simply tying themselves to the deck.

Bearing looks of incredulousness, the Kidd Pirates had gathered on the deck, awaiting orders from their captain. Kidd stood back at them with no look of fear and seemingly ignorant of the sudden feeling of being very small that washed over his crew. Over his shoulders was his large, fur jacket and all his spikes and metal adornments had been polished. Killer stood at his side and beside Killer Ava sat on the ground with a notebook in her lap and a pencil in her hand as she sketched the island.

Monstrous trees and vegetation covered their view, but the island extended past their line of sight in either direction. It seemed flat as there were no noticeable protrusions. Each flower that bloomed was the size of a room with leaves the size of their heads. The top of trees went unseen and still Kidd lowered the gangplank to the dock. Joining him on his mission to scout out the island were Killer, Heat, Wire, Mack and Butch. Ava, of course, was not allowed to remain unsupervised and was allowed to join them on their quest.

With Kidd in the lead, they walked across the dock and entered the think and giant underbrush that covered the island. Contrary to what they expected, they found it easy to work their way across the island as all the plant life was big enough for them to walk under. Vines hung above their head and fell into their path like logs and it was nearly black in every inch of the forest for the sunlight could hardly pierce the dense leaves that extended for miles over their heads.

"So what do you think lives here?" Mack asked and wiped his brow. Sweat slid down the exposed parts of his rotund body. The humidity underneath the canopy was higher than any human island and the heat was muggy and intense.

"Giants, of course," Butch replied and smacked his hand against his upper arm. Pulling away, he found his arm coated in green and red ooze with the remnants of a mosquito as big as he hand in his palm. "Well shit." He flung his hand away from him and slung off most of the grime. The rest he wiped away with a bandana he kept in his back pocket.

Mack nodded and swatted away a large butterfly. "Well, how are we supposed to find them?"

"What kind of question is that?"Butch asked loudly and smacked his hand against the back of his companions head.

"What do you mean?"

"He means that if a giant were to lie beside your ship, there's a very good chance that it would be bigger than your ship. Do you think you could miss that? Even in this forest?" Ava explained from the front of the group, whereas Mack and Butch were carrying up the rear.

"No, I guess you're right, Missy," Mack agreed and rubbed the back of his head. He grinned sheepishly at Ava and bright red stained his cheeks.

"He may not miss them," Wire said and pulled the black hood off his head, "but they may miss us. Just like this." He stepped on a beetle the size of his boot that crossed his path and rubbed its oozing body into the dirty. "Squish."

Ava stopped walking and stared at the bug as its blue blood crept across the forest floor. "That's gross," she whined and then jogged back up to Wire's side. "You should apologize."

He looked at Ava and almost apologized to her and the dead bug when Kidd spoke up from the front, having heard the crunch of the beetle and Ava's comment. "If you apologize to that bug, I'll kill you."

Wire looked at Ava who looked back at him expectantly and with a small smile. "My life isn't worth apologizing to a bug."

"A dead bug," she correctly and then jogged past him, Killer and Heat to walk beside Kidd. "Hey, Mr. Eustass?" Even though she reached him, Ava kept jogging to keep up with his long, quick strides. He stared at her expectantly. "When we get to the town, I was wondering if you would be so generous as to spare me a few Beli so I can call my Big Brother."

Glancing at her, Kidd spat and removed the dagger from its holster across his chest. He waved it agitatedly in front of him, slicing giant bugs in half with each swipe. The bottoms of his boots were stained in the colorful and gelatinous entrails left behind, alongside a few shiny pieces of shell. "What, is your big, bad brother going to be worried?" A mocking grin swept across his feature.

"No," Ava answered and shook her head, "more likely than not he's going to scold me for having got caught and tell me I'm a lousy pirate. But he'll be quite interested to know that I'm with you. You're one of the few rookies we've been paying attention to."

There was a vaguely disturbed expression on Kidd's face that intensified as he watched Ava walk straight though a large swarm of gnats but they never got close to her. "Whatever." Shoving his hand into the inside of his coat, he pulled out a small, velvet bag that jingled as it swung in his hand. He tossed it to Ava as a large, black and yellow spotted bug landed on his chest. He took it in his hand and crushed it, wiping the guts off on his pants. Laughter shook his body when he saw the disgusted face Ava made at him.


	4. Conclusion

My dearest readers,

Due to the flash-drive-of-life having been swallowed up by the very cracks in the earth's surface, never to be seen again, I am having to discontinue this version of the story of Eustass Kidd and Trafalgar Ava. However, in the spirit of the phoenix, I am starting anew under the name of DeadDinosaur, where this tale is refurbished under the title of What's on the Flip Side. I very much hope you look into it and enjoy it as much as you did the first version.

Sincerely yours,

DeadDinosaur (ie. Antoinette Shakespeare).

xoxo


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